Sanction the Jieng Council of Elders (JCE)- the obstructer of peace that’s hiding in the open

The recent sanctioning of three of Kiir’s henchmen by the US government is having a salutary effect on the slow progress towards peace in South Sudan. However, much more remains to be done, especially further identification of the main culprits of obstruction and anti-peace elements that must include the self-styled Jieng Council of Elders, the JCE.

To most South Sudanese, the JCE is the single most important candidate for sanctions, which it has so far evaded by hiding, under the cloak of a community-based organization, in the plain site of the sanctions investigators; the latter should now turn their searchlight on this shadowy and dangerous anti-peace outfit.

Evidence abounds on the obstructive role that this mafia-like organization has been playing in frustrating effort to achieve peace in our country. When in the past Kiir refused to sign the ARCSS in Addis Ababa in 2015, he gave an excuse that he wanted to first consult with his “people”; the people he meant was actually the JCE.

The same organization has also been responsible for several other objections by the Kiir regime on issues concerned with deployment of peace-keepers in South Sudan.

JCE and its members do not just obstruct peace; they also get involved in decisions of the military council and other security matters that have direct bearing on the war and peace in that country. Consequently, one must therefore, wonder what drives the JCE in playing this negative role in our body politics.

In order to answer this question, it is important to know where the JCE is coming from. JCE is what it is: it is a conspiratorial and tribal mafia-like organization whose main objective is arguably to advance the interest of the Dinka people at the expense of other non-Dinka South Sudanese.

It first came into being in the 1960’s when Southern Sudanese leaders decided to wage a war against the government in Khartoum for the right of self-determination. The war was largely fought in the region of Equatoria and was largely led by Equatorians. Names of leaders like Saturnino Ohure, Joseph Lagu, Pankrasyo Ocheng, Abu John, Gbatala, Jada, Aggrey Jaden, Joseph Oduho, all of whom are and were Equatorians, can easily be remembered.

The Dinka leaders were conspicuously absent in the movement; under the tutelage of Abel Alier, they chose to fight for the same cause in the enemy’s capital in Khartoum! It was there that the budding JCE ideology of ethnic dominance, captured in the epithet “Dinka are born to rule”, emerged.

At its very basic, the ideology postulates that the Dinka are born natural leaders and should prepare themselves to dominate political, military, and economic leadership in South Sudan.

But while expounding this Hitlerite ideology the JCE was also aware at that time that the educational, economic and social backwardness of the wider Dinka population then and now would not provide the necessary structural support for the actualization of this ideology.

To cure this weakness, they preferred that an alliance with the Arabs in northern Sudan was essential; as the power holder in the whole Sudan, the Arabs would hold the ring against their more advanced competitor, the Equatorians, while at the same time promoting the dominance of the Dinka elite in the South.

The opportunity to implement this policy presented itself in 1972, when the mainly Equatorian leaders of the liberation movement entered into peace negotiations with the Arab government, in Addis Ababa. The head of the Khartoum government delegation was none other than Abel Alier, the Chief Priest of the “Born to Rule” ideology.

This was the first evidential confirmation that the Dinka indeed were in alliance with the Arabs. The subsequent autonomous governments of the South which were the result of the negotiations were dominated by Abel Alier with his key lieutenants and acolytes that included an anti-Equatorian politician, called Bona Malual.

But the Equatorians did not take this dominance lying down. In a clever and dexterous political maneuver, Joseph Lagu, and other Equatorian leaders, managed to bring about the division of the South into three autonomous regions of: Equatoria, Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile.

Kokora, as the act of the division came to be called in the Bari language, made Abel Alier and his Dinka people to vacate Equatoria and return to govern and develop their own region. This move expectedly angered the Dinka elite as it spelt doom to their plan for dominating the whole South. The ire directly led to the creation of the SPLA/M.

After the division, the immediate objective of the Dinka leaders of the SPLA/M was to revert the South to the single entity that had existed before the division in order to restore their alliance with the Arabs and revive their plan for the South.

This, as we know, did not happen, instead, the South became independent with the Arabs permanently removed from the South’s political scene. This move again threatened their ideological objective and also incurred the loss of their essential ally.

To counter this loss of an important ally, and rescue their overall plan, the JCE had to go back to the drawing board to reformulate their ideology without their Arab benefactors. The consequence of this reformulation is what is now taking place in the Republic of South Sudan.

Now, the solution for countering the perceived educational, economic and social superiority of their nemesis, the Equatorians, is to devise a situation where the Dinka population, mainly the youth, is preferentially empowered through quality education in foreign countries in Africa and oversees. (Meanwhile schools and universities in South Sudan that cater for the rest and poor South Sudanese are starved of funds and government attention).

This accelerated educational program is fashioned on the Kenyan emergency plan at independence that uplifted young Kenyans to the US where they underwent intensive instructions in governance and administration to prepare them to take over from the departing British colonialists. (The father of President Obama, Obama Snr, was a beneficiary of this plan).

It is therefore not surprising that tens of thousands of Dinka youth are found in towns and cities of eastern African and overseas countries pursuing various levels of education, from nursery to university. These kinds of opportunities are not available to the Equatorians.

At the same time, schemes have been devised for ordinary Dinka to access plundered government money through bogus entrepreneurial companies to empower them economically. The infamous Dura grain scandal is one of the schemes. Other South Sudanese do not benefit from such unjustified favor.

The planners in the JCE further realized that for their plan to produce the desired outcomes there has to be a state of political confusion in the country for at least a generation (25 years). The state of confusion is provided for by the massive and unprecedented level of corruption and the equally massive displacement of South Sudanese through war, assassinations, rape and disappearances.

This tumult in the country affords a free and corrupt access to government money for the Dinka elite and their people and secondly, it delays and holds down any form of development in Equatoria so that, in the estimation of the JCE, the Dinka population can catch up or surpass the Equatorians.

At that future stage, the fundamental tenet, that of ethnic domination in South Sudan as espoused by the JCE ideology, will then be readily achieved.

The membership of JCE comprises of highly educated people, including strategists, diplomats and operators with keen knowledge of the working of governments in the White Hall, the White House, and the UN system. So far they have deftly and successfully managed to conceal this insidious and dangerous ideology from the gaze of the international community to evade a deserved opprobrium.

This Nazi-type of social engineering has no place in the present world, and if left unchecked, will have a devastating effect on the cohesion of the people of South Sudan.
The Chairman of JCE, Ambrose Riiny Thiik, is a well-educated man and a former Chief Justice, who also has lived in a modern and liberal country, the UK. Yet, he is at the apex of a Neo-Nazi organization orchestrating the killing and ethnic cleansing of his fellow citizens in South Sudan.

The US government sanctions committee should investigate him thoroughly with the aim of sanctioning him as a deterrent to his other equally dangerous confederates. Rumors have it that he is a landlord to the US Mission to South Sudan. If proven, this could provide a pressure point through which his divisive action can be curtailed.

His son is said to be a minister in the country’s ministry of finance and is said to be the man behind the recent hiking of the registration fee for international NGOs; the hike is a sinister move to frustrate the delivery of services to the famished and dying South Sudanese.

We look forward to the next list of individuals for sanctions that we hope will include the Chairman of JCE.

Samuel Atabi is a concerned South Sudanese and can be reached at samuel atabi@gmail.com

It is very logical argument. The writer made us to believe that what is going on in South Sudan is made by JCE. So the argument is well supported by some concrete evidences that can make one to believe the writer. Well it is worthy reading it. To some of us, the situation in South Sudan is created by few corrupt and greedy South Sudan leaders. They allow greediness to control them. These individuals are either JCE, Equtarians or Nuer. They misused the resources in the country while they confused the people of South Sudan to fight against each others while they are looting. Their time will come and they will face the reality.

The Equtarians and Nuer and the rest of ethnic groups are either puppets or docile who are care for their self interest. These people have no power in tribal regime of Kirr and their presence is to mislead the world that the government of South Sudan is well represented.
Samuel is right to equate the JCE with SS during Hilter regime in Germany because they were power base of Nazi- regime and it is exactly what JCE is in Kirr’s government. It is JCE who are child brains behind the creation of 28 States, depopulation of none-Jieng from their ancestral lands and heinous crimes committed against the rest of ethnic groups in current war in South Sudan.
The JCE is a criminal organisation and it shouldn’t be absolved from its role in destruction of South Sudan whether her people or natural resources in pursuit of Jieng grand plan Samuel has alluded to. In short, to equate the role of none- Jieng in Kirr’s government with JCE destructive role is not fair and you portray your self an apologist of fascist regime people of South Sudan have ever experienced in modern history Sudan and South Sudan.

Thanks for your remarkable comment. Valid points regarding the regime in Germany. However, I beg to disagree with you about non-Dinka who are working with the regime in Juba. The non-Dinka who work with the regime in Juba shouldn’t be left out. They are as bad as the regime. These individuals are supporting the regime, so they are also responsible for their reckless actions.

Mad Gatdarwich. Good to hear from you again big rebel. To Atabi, you are a big liar internet warrior who want nothing, but our peoples’ continue suffering in south Sudan. What are you going to gain from preaching anti Dinkas message ?.

Mr Atabi
Very well reporting and you said it all partner. Dinka have created themselves enemies everywhere, bad names and they forced minority groups now to unite against them more than ever. How long can they sustain themselves by brute force,crookedness and wicked ways? The answer is, not long, there end is on the way. As far as history is concern all evil regimes have been dismantled and the perpetrators were wiped out completely. E.g. Nazis, Saddam, Kaddafi just to name a few, and so shall these MTN insects are on that road to HELL

JCE is the only brain power behind Kirr’s regime existence, get rid of them and Kirr will be gone. JCE killed their own son Dr. John Garang because he was a uniting figure. They wanted a tribalist chief to rally behind and so they instilled Sultan of Jenge hegemony Chief Salva Kirr Mayardit. Unfortunately the blindfolded Dinka masses are following JCE and Kirr to doomsday. They will learn their lessons hard way. The best way forward is to cause divisions within them and separate Satan from his angels, as we see it happening now. Read the following;http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article63632

Atabi,
The sanction of prominent individual leaders would not work since your job is to continue preaching prejudice on one tribe of Dinka. I am glad you have realized that fighting is not changing anything at this point. All I know is that, sanction is not relevant as long as the Dinka people are free of sanction. So, if sanction maneuvering is what you have in your mind, then you might just come up with something better. And you must know this, if you have military background of waging war. In the military chain of commands, a superior officer is in charge and the following is sub-ordinate, and if in case something have happened to superior then that means someone is ready to take over. So, that means the circle never ended. So, for you, what different would the sanction make since the populace has no barriers?

I like the level of ignorance you are displaying here. Just go and ask Omar el Bashir how it feels being sanctioned.

You may want to continue posturing that the dinka people can weather the storm in the face of the current conflict, the end is nigh! You are insinuating that Kiir is ready to replace those “infected” with sanctions with fresh blood and the cycle of governance malfeasance and misrule ad nauseam.

South Sudan cannot remain in its current state. The bad leadership in Juba is costly to the global community in terms of humanitarian expenses (talk of the food assistance in your villages among others) and regional security.

Get somebody, more knowledgeable, to explain to you how sanctions work.

Dear Eastern et al,
Thank you for reacting positively to the article. I really wish to know you more.

I am still mystified by the arrogance of the Jieng elite that led them to declare their tribe people as born leaders. To the best of my knowledge, there are no such things as ‘born’ leaders. Unknowingly, the elite are falling victim to one of the most dangerous myths ever harbored only by deranged psychopaths like Hitler, Mussolini and their ilk. Leaders are made and the skills to be a leader are learned and developed through deliberate change in an individual’s character. Attaining leadership skill is like learning how to fly an airplane; I am not aware of anyone born with a skill to fly a Boeing 737!

If the Jieng elite were aware of what leadership is all about, they would not have made the historical blunder that has now put their people on an inexorable collision course with the rest of South Sudanese. If the Jieng were really as clever as they think they are, by now they would have stopped Kiir from further self-destruction in which he is now engaged. Kiir, like most of the Jieng ‘leaders’ that we have seen over the recent times, do not show any attributes of leadership. These are: valuing truth (honesty); eschewing resentment and revenge (forgiving); avoiding gratuitous insults to others (respectful); showing self-control over greed, anger etc (patient); giving attention, appreciating, and encouraging others (kind); spirit of sharing with others and not seeking self-aggrandizement (selfless); not displaying arrogance about one’s ability (humble); and doing the right things irrespective of cost to self (committed).

But what do we see from the Jieng elite? They are bereft of all these attributes; instead they operate from delusion of grandeur and unproven genetic attributes of leadership. They believe that they are indispensible in the governance of South Sudan. But, brothers and sisters from Jieng community, cemeteries all of over the world are full of indispensible people!

Whilst all your remarks are in place, let me advice you not to place all your hope in global community. The very global community is as blamable as Kiir. They are partners in crime in my view.

As the oppressed, the ball is in our court. We either liberate ourselves or remain in bondage for eternity. It is high time we organize ourselves and unite so we can uplift ourselves from the yoke of our oppressor.

Eastern,
I am not here to argument with you, you chose to fight and that was your choice. You can either keeping fighting or make peace. I was just pointing out that sanction was not an answer to your problems. Yes, Omar was sanctioned, but it did change the fact that North Sudan never had peace regardless of sanctions. Don’t you know they are killing themselves right now in Darfur and Blue Nile respectively at the moment? Why sanctioning of Northern Sudan did not bring peace?

You are wallowing in ignorance and self pity. For you to say that the just lifted economic sanctions had no effect on the Sudan.

Just to give you a brief background, the Sudan was sanctioned by the US when it was more than four decades as an independent country with well established government institutions, fully fledged economy supported by agriculture, industries, oil export, etc. The regimes was able to whether the storm partly due to the above factors, albeit groaning under the weight of the sanction regime curtailing the country from doing business freely with international financial institutions, etc.

Any type of sanction imposed on an individual or regime is a bad indicator. Be very afraid!

Mr Atabi,
Dr Riek is getting recycled and if everything went well,he is bound to be Kiir’s successor.So better prepare to write about nuers in your cool place in exile in Congo.They will not show u mercy for your naughty ways like ordinary jieng do to u.

False Millionaire
You raised a very important topic, such that if each successive regime in SS should become the next face of an oppressive regime of the next generation, that we should just surrender to Kirr’s autocratic dictatorships? Maybe you are right, although I think you are being a simple-minded tribalistic mindset. Are you suggesting that whoever becomes a leader automatically must own the country and give the country to his/her tribal members? You see that very misconception about governance is the disease in this young nation. I really wish that you understand that the reason other tribes joined Riek is that they are all facing the same enemy, ie SPLA Juba, “simply because the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. I can assure you if one day Riek becomes the president and he turns the government into Nuer Enclave like you Jenges are doing today, then the other tribes will join with Dinkas to fight the Nuers, simple as that. Such cycle shall continue including if the Equatorians should do the same.
Until we have a government in South Sudan that is formed by ALL the people of SS for ALL the people of SS and will be governed by ALL the people of SS.

false millionaire
We know your tactics is to use fear, but we have nothing to fear from nuer because nuers have not caused as much trouble compared to you dinkas have done in s.s, so u can go and hang yourself with your lies.